Core sampling



May 13, 1958 H. J. woLLNER 2,834,212

GORE SAMPLING Filed Nov. so, 1955 j l l d [we/afar Herer WIJ/zer Maar/GUnited States Patent 'C CORE SAMPLING HerbertJ.. Wollner, Belmont,Mass., assignor to American Conditioning House, Inc., Boston, Mass., acorporation of Massachusetts Application November 30, 1955, Serial No.550,137

3 Claims. (Cl. 73-423) boring tool which is hollow from end to end, thetool be-` ing rotated by a motor while taking the core. In order toextract cores in this way it is necessary to compress the fibres into acompact mass, and when the bres are in a bag or bale or other containerit has not been possible to extract a core free from container coveringmaterial unless a separate manual step of making an aperture has firstbeen completed.

Objects of the present invention are to provide apparatus for extractingthe cores which is rapid and etlicient in use, which eliminates thenecessity of removing the material from the containers, and which willoperate automatically as the containers move past a fixed point on aconveyor system. A further object is to provide automatically anaperture in the container to permit access for the coring tool withoutremoving any part of the container.

In one aspect the present invention involves means for puncturing andspreading apart the wall of a bag or bale or other container to permitthe entry of the coring tool without cutting out a section of thecontainer wall, together with means for concomitantly operating thespreading means and coring tool so that the coring tool enters thecontainer after the spreading means forms an opening.

In another aspect the invention involves means for compressing thecontainer of material while on a conveyor, in combination with coringmeans, so that cores may be taken from the bags or bales while beingcon- Veyed from one location to another.

For the purpose of illustration typical embodiments of the invention areshown in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a top plan view ofone embodiment;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the end of the tube forming the opening in thebag; and

Fig. 5 is a top plan of another embodiment.

The embodiment shown in Figs. l to 3 comprises a conveyor 1 for bags B,a vertical wall 2 along one side of the conveyor, a ram 3 on the otherside of the conveyor for compressing a portion of a bag against thewall, and a sampling device 4 operating through an opening in the wallopposite the ram to extract cores from the bags as they pass by. Theconveyor may be fed intermittently so that each bag pauses momentarilyat the sampling station, or the compressor and sampler may operate sofast in relation to the speed of the conveyor that the conveyor may bedriven continuously. In either case the bags should be positioned on theconveyor so that a bag is at the sampling station each time the ram .andsampler operate. This may be accomplished in many f 2,834,212 PatentedMay 19.58

ice

ways, as for example by placing the bags in abutting relation or byproviding a cleat on the conveyor at the rear end of each bag position,the cleats being spaced according to the timing of the sampler.

As shown in Figs. l to 3 the sampling device comprises a tube 6 Slidableback and forth through the aforesaid opening in wall 2, the forward endof the tube being Vbeveled with a rounded edge so that it punctures thebag B and spreads apart the strands thereof without entrapping any ofthe bag fragments. Slidable back and forth inside the tube 6 is atubular coring tool 7 having its forward end sharpened to cut a corefrom the compressed mass of fibers F, the tool being longer than thetube 6 `so as tol extend farther into the bag. The plunger 3, tube 6 andtool 7 may be reciprocated back and forth by any suitable mechanism,electrical, hydraulic, mechanical or pneumatic. As illustrated the tube6 is actuated through the medium of a piston 8 sliding in cylinder 9, anarm 11 fast to the tube 6 and extending out through a slot 12 in thecylinder, a link 13, and a crank 14 driven by a motor 16 through a gearbox 17. The coring tool is similarly driven through mechanisms 18, 19,20 and 21, the arm 19 being fast to 18. In the illustration the spreader6 precedes the corer 7 in both forward and rearward movements, but theonly essential of the timing is that the spreader precedes the corer intheir forward movements. The bag must be in a cornpressed state beforethe corer is retracted and preferably before it is advanced.

The cylinder 18 serves not only as a mounting device for the corer butalso as a container for the cores, each core being pushed back into thecylinder by the next succeeding core. After the desired number of coresare collected the caps 22 and 23 are removed to remove the cores.

The modification shown in Fig. 5 comprises a head 26 corresponding tothe part 9 in the first embodiment. However instead of being stationaryit is mounted on plungers 27 for reciprocating it back and forth.Sliding back and forth through an opening in the head between theplungers 27 is a coring tube 28 like 7 of the first embodiment.Pivotally mounted on the front of the head are two valve cranksjournaledat 29, each valve crank comprising a forwardly projecting arm31 and a laterally projecting arm 32. The forwardly projecting arms 31are not of equal length, one being slightly shorter and lying in theshadow of the other to assure entry into the bag at the same point.Under the arms 32 are compression springs 33 for holding the tips of thepointed arms 31 together.

The operation of the modification is as follows. With the tips of thearms 31 together the head 26 is advanced to insert the arms 31 into abag, thereby to puncture the bag and spread the strands thereof apart.When the laterally extending arms 32 come into contact with the bag theyare retarded, thereby spreading the arms 31 apart and compressingsprings 33. After an opening has been formed in the bag the coring tube28 is advanced relatively to the head 26 to cut a core from the mass offibers in the bag. Before the coring tube 28 advances relatively to thehead 26 the fibers in the bag must be in a compressed state. This can beaccomplished in different ways. For example the head 26 may press thebag against a fixed abutment, or a plunger like 3 in the firstembodiment may compress the bag against the head 26 after the headreaches the forward end of the stroke and before the core 28 advances.

While the invention has been illustrated with bags of fibers it shouldbe understood that other materials and containers are included withinthe scope of this invention. For exam-ple containers made from wovenfabric of all types, paper, laminated material, sheet metal, etc. andcontaining bulk materials such as sand, sugar, cement, etc. as Well asfibers of all types are included.- The term fpuncture as herein usedincludes entry between the strands of loosely woven materials. In thecase of dense materials or tightly packaged materials already in acornpressed state, the separate step of compressing the material can beomitted.

It should be further understood that the present disclosure is for thepurpose of illustration only and that the invention includes allmodifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of theappended claims.

. I claim:

1. For extracting a sample of material from a container, apparatus whichcomprises spreading means having a tapered nose for puncturing acontainer and then spreading the opening, and coring means movablethrough said opening from a retracted position where its cutting end isbehind said nose to an advanced position where its cutting end projectsbeyond said nose.

2. For extracting a sample of material from a container, apparatus whichcomprises spreading means having a tapered nose for puncturing acontainer and then spreading the opening, coring means movable throughsaid opening from a retracted position where its cutting end is behindsaid nose to an advanced position where its cutting end projects beyondsaid nose, and means for advancing said coring means from said retractedposition to said advanced position.

3. For extracting a sample of material from a container, apparatus whichcomprises spreading means having a tapered nose for puncturing acontainer and then spreading the opening, coring means movable throughsaid opening from a retracted position where its cutting end is behindsaid nose to an advanced position where its cutting end projects beyondsaid nose, and means for advancing said coring means from said retractedposition to said advanced position and then back to retracted positionwhile said nose is inserted in the container so that the opening cannotstart to close before the core is removed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

